Part of you, Shadow of me - A DragonAge fanfiction
by yukiro-fayt1
Summary: Set with all original characters set within the DragonAge world. It is about a dalish elf; Fen'Fael, and his clan, who start of in search of the lost Arlathan, but soon find themselves out of the frying pan and into the fire when a group of slavers show up. Contains M/M so if you aren't into it, then don't read. Trigger warnings: Slavery, abuse and hinted rape (but not written).
1. Chapter 1

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

Far to the east of the Tevinter imperium is the forest of Arlathan. Many have heard of it's downfall to the magisters whom used bloodmagic to sink the great city to the ground. Some debate if it is true, or if some other force sunk the city of Arlathan, but what is known for sure is that the elves morn their lost city and culture.  
One small clan of elves banded together to explore within the forest of Arlathan, a risk not many would have taken with the slave-trade so strong within Tevinter. Their ancestors spoke of the terrors of what happened, the sky; red as rivers of blood, trees uprooted by an unseen force, ground swallowing structures as their homeland began to crumble and sink into the ground.

Curious the Keeper Belassan Assanathdar took her clan further into the forest. Her first born son Virgarth scouted ahead of the others to find safe passage into the forest. He was of average hight with short, well-kept light-brown hair and sun-kissed skin. His physical build was of one whom spent time honing his strength and power wielding the sword and shield.  
Her second born son, and her First (or apprentice as the Shems ((humans)) would call it) Fen'Fael kept close to her. The two had been born as twins, though they were far from the same. In looks, and in personality. Fen'Fael's true name was actually just Fael, but a few years ago he had helped a young wolf pup, healing it with his magic, and then returning it to the pack – an act not many elves would have done, and the clan added 'Fen' to his name. Virgarth would have just left the pup, or even killed it, but Fen'Fael had compassion enough to spare even Fen'Harel's own skin. Or so it was joked.  
Belassan worried this would separate him further from the clan, or cause them to say hurtful things, but he didn't mind the nickname, and the clan only ever seemed to use it as a sign of endearment despite what his nickname implied.

Fen'Fael shifted on the spot anxiously and she could tell he was ready to join his elder brother in scouting ahead for potential danger. However she kept him beside her for she knew the kind of mischievous nature he held and what dangers that would often land him in.  
Unlike his brother, Fen'Fael's skin was much lighter, like that of her own. He had blond hair that he usually left a complete mess though he kept it short so it rarely bothered him. It bothered her, however and often she would tell him to tidy himself up if he wanted to be respected by the other members of the clan. 'They love me enough as it is, any more respect or love and I'll surely drown,' he would often say, a big smirk on his face.  
Today, however he seemed much more serious. Virgarth had spotted a group of Shems within the forest a few days ago, she only hoped they hadn't noticed the clan and that they were not slavers tracking them. She could only hope for the best.  
The other clan member she had at her side was a female elf who was a couple of years younger than Fen'Fael. Era'falon joined the clan only two years ago when Virgarth and Fen'fael found her being harassed by bandits, whom they could only guess at to what horrors they had planned for her. Her clan had been killed in the skirmish leaving Era'falon the only survivor.  
She was a bit smaller than others of her age, and her skittish nature only made her seem even smaller than in truth. Her raven-black hair was usually tied up in a hallatail (dalish equivalent of a ponytail), as she kept it long. Her skin was darker than any of the others in the clan, and many outsiders noticed such right away. Skin colour was not an issue for dalish (or the other races in Thedas), though Belassan could not place which clan she may have belonged too before ending up in hers. There were other clans in Thedas, but after meeting up with a few different clans, none seemed to know who Era'Falon was or what clan she had come from and she refused to leave her saviours side. Seeing as there were no other clans with potential family members, Belassan made sure she had been accepted into the clan without any arguments from any of the other clan members. Not that she needed to worry. They accepted her from the moment it was mentioned that Era'falon would be staying with them.

Ahead of the clan, Virgarth scouted the woods with confident steps. He held his sword at the ready, though felt that there was no danger close-by. He didn't lower his sword, however. He felt that one could never be too cautious about these things. Perhaps the shem's had simply been near the area hunting, or maybe they were lost. They didn't have to be slavers, or anyone dangerous. Yet something nagged at him to not trust those ideals about the shemlen's, to him, they were simply 'dirty, dragon-humping, halla dung'.  
After a while, Virgarth found a clearing beside a small stream. There was still no sign of any humans in the area, no tracks, sounds, nothing, and thus he decided to bring the clan here for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

A few days went by without any sign of the shem's that the clan had spotted before. This gave them room to relax a little, however - Virgarth kept vigilant. His trust for humans was lower than most in the clan, but he knew what would happen if he relaxed too much and let their guard down. He didn't want to put his clan in any danger of being caught off guard by any shem, slavers or no.

He paced his way slowly along the camp's outskirts, keeping close to the others but far enough away that he could keep an eye on the forest surrounding them.  
At times he would watch his brother Fen'Fael make some mischief in a playful attempt to keep tensions low, though their mother would often get frustrated at his pranks. This time he had slipped a make-shift pretend spider of twigs and dead leaves near the log she was using to sit upon. It wasn't a very well-made thing, but it was enough to startle her when she noticed it out of the corner of her eye.  
She scolded him but Fen'Fael just ran off, laughing enough that soon she would laugh too; though not before throwing the fake spider at him. Virgarth smirked as he watched his family, his own playful nature not so easily hidden as he'd like to have others believe. Although not as childish as his brother, he did enjoy a good laugh with his loved ones.

After a few hours past, Virgarth allowed himself to relax, if the humans were close – there were no signs of it and with no immediate danger, he moved back to the small camp the group had made. Virgarth settled down upon one of the fallen logs, taking out his sword to sharpen it on some whetstone while things remained calm and quiet for the rest of the day.

As the last few rays of sunshine made it's way through the forest trees, Fen'Fael decided to aid his brother in one last check of their surrounding's just for an extra sense of safety should it be needed.  
Virgarth gave a thoughtful sound before saying to his twin brother, "we should split up, then. Make a fairly wide circle around the camp. This way, should there be anything strange or dangerous, we would still be within shouting distance to the others."  
Fen'Fael gave a nod of agreement, "and they would have enough warning to run away if we do find anything dangerous." He replied.  
In their agreement, the two set off to check their surroundings one last time before the clan would rest for the night. Of course the whole clan would take turns to keep watch – as was their custom whenever night fell. After all, just because the clan needed sleep, it didn't mean that slavers would honour that, nor would beasts of the woods that prowled at night time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

Crimson clouds glistened as the edge of the Arlathan woods burned to embers in front of Fen'Fael's eyes as he stared back at the burning trees before him. He could see nothing between the hazy smoke of the fire and the trees that were red with flames.  
He had made a speedy get away as soon as he had noticed the first flames coming upon him; he had not returned to the clan nor his brother from their last check on their surroundings as the fire had just come out of nowhere; or so he had first thought.  
He couldn't see his friends or mother anywhere, for all he knew they were dead or captured by the slavers; it was them who had set the fire. A way to 'smoke' them out he had heard one of them say, but he hadn't stuck around to find out. He wanted to warn the others, but it was far too dangerous and much too late. Either they had escaped their captors and the flames or they had not. Either way, things looked bleak and a solitary elf was a dead elf.  
He continued to watch as the fire devastate the forest before clenching a fist, magic lightening crackled at his fingertips.  
He would pay them back for each loss, for each slave, death and pain that the Tevinter bastards deserved. Even if he did not live, he believed that if he could stop at least one group of slavers then it would be worth it.

A yell from a short distance somewhere to his right caught his attention. He didn't recognize it as a family member, but it was a voice he had heard not too long ago. One of the slavers, their leader, perhaps? He wasn't overly sure, but it was a safe bet to assume his clan was there if they had been captured at all.  
He concentrated his mana, closing his eyes while taking his two-handed sword. Energy zipped through his hands until magic poured through his whole body; but also through the sword. This magic was of the old elvish sort, and although the craft was mostly lost and forgotten; a few recalled how to use the arcane warrior abilities.

He stalked closer towards the slavers direction, slowly and carefully as to not alert them to his approach. He slipped through the trees which had yet to catch aflame and made his way into cover so that he could spy on them. He was no rouge however, and a twig snapped under his foot. He cursed in dalish under his breath, and waited to see if they had noticed. It seemed the roaring fire was making too much noise for anyone to notice other than himself.  
His heart was pounding in his chest loudly, his head full of the fire crackling behind him, and a loud buzzing sound of the rage he was feeling. It was taking all he had and more to block it out of his mind as he peered past the tree he was hiding behind to get a view ahead of him.  
There in the cages were several humans and even more elves, most of which he did not recognize, though there was one of whom he knew. Era'Falon sat in one of the corners, knees raised to her chin as she sobbed into her arms. She was clearly petrified of what might happen to her, Fen'Fael could only guess what she might be thinking.  
She had seen horrid things before and now for all she knew it was happening to her again. He was determined not to allow that to happen, she didn't deserve to have this happen to her, or to anyone for that matter.

There was no sign of his other family members, but there may have been other cages, he wouldn't know without searching and Fen'Fael could only assume that the captured humans and elven folk here had been in the cages a while now, for they were out of the way of any cities here in the forest.  
He felt he had paused for long enough. It was time to take action and he had never been one for waiting around. After all, the longer he dithered the higher chance he would loose the other clan members as they left the forest.  
He took note of the closest slaver and rushed towards them, one hand outstretched, the other still wielding his sword. He mumbled a few words in dalish under his breath, causing a bolt of lightening to come down upon the few closest slavers to him. He had managed to catch them off guard, though they were quick to retaliate against him with swords and shields. The few further away shot at him with arrows.  
He managed to dodge a few arrows before the first slaver with his sword attempted to flank him from his left, assuming he wouldn't be able to block his attack. Fen'Fael turned and parried with his own sword. The magic cursing through his hands crackled under the pressure, but he held strong as he pushed the slaver back.  
The boss shouted, "stop playing around, and capture the elf already!" From somewhere in front of Fen'Fael. A game? He could certainly make a game of this if they wished too. He smirked, as another slaver came up to him sword at the ready while the previous one circled to flank him once more.

Fen'Fael could feel his pride for his skills swell up inside of him as his smirk grew wider, almost mockingly taunting the two men. His lightening zapped the one man, hitting him head on, while he used his sword to push the other away before dealing a heavy blown to the other.  
The man who had been electrocuted had passed out, while the other attempted to push Fen'Fael back. Another, a female had sneaked up behind him, daggers in her hands, she made two swift swipes against his leather armoured back, causing Fen'Fael to loose his balance and wince in pain, though he noticed she had been careful not to damage him badly. Fen'Fael wasn't sure if this was an error on her part or not.  
She had managed to gash his back a little, just not enough for him to be effected by such a small wound. There was an odd sensation where his back was wounded however, and it felt strange. It did not hurt, oddly enough, so he chose to ignore the wound for now and turned to face the woman.~

She was covered in leather from head to foot, but he could tell she was female, and an elf. He was irritated by the knowledge of another elf being a slaver, but not surprised for he knew some city elves knew no better than to follow their masters orders. He almost pitied her, but he knew he could not go easy on her, simply for being a slave.  
He gave her an apologetic look before saying softly, "Ir abelas, stranger," he raised his sword, aiming to would her enough to keep her from attacking again, however she jumped just out of his reach. Her gaze fixed upon his.  
She gave him a bland look before saying, "be sorry all you like, I would be too."  
Fen'Fael gave a quizzical look, no city elf knew the old tongue. He opened his mouth to speak, but he soon noticed that his body was starting to stiff and become numb.  
The female spared a soft look, for only a moment, "deathroot extract." She said simply, her usual blank expression returned moments after her words.  
Fen'Fael knew it was only a matter of time before he would be barely able to move if not worse. His rashness caused him to error in his judgement of how smart slavers would be.

He closed his eyes as he tried to slow his breathing, an attempt to slow his heart so that the toxins would not rush around in his blood. His captures would not allow him a moment however, and were upon him in a flash.  
Hands tied, legs bounded and mouth gagged. Their boss had made sure there would be no slip ups, no regaining any advantage or possibility of escape.  
Fen'Fael felt more of his body going numb, and he struggled to keep himself awake in the place he had been slumped upon. His vision was blurred and he could hardly hear anything around him. He was aware enough of the presence of someone around him. A man he guessed but his senses were foggy at best.  
Fen'Fael felt the person roughly yank his arm in order to stand him up, but his legs gave way underneath him. Fen'Fael cursed at the man in a garbled mess through the ropes in his mouth before he finally passed out from the paralysis of the deathroot.


	4. Chapter 4

Part of you, shadow of me.

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

The sound of wheels upon cobblestone shook Fen'Fael awake from his nightmarish slumber, if that was the word he would have used. His body still felt the affects of the deathroot, but he could move a little. He noticed a lack of slaves in the cage he was in, but noticed two others full either side of his own.  
Era'Falon was in the cage closest to his own, watching him with a worried gaze. She looked genuinely glad that Fen'Fael had at least woken up. He noticed her eyes were red from crying so much and she looked more frightened than earlier. Fen'Fael tried to say a few comforting words, but he was gagged, and so he sat slumped against the bars in silence.  
Fen'Fael saw no trace of the others, but he did notice that there were two cages short from what he recalled seeing in the forest. Perhaps the others were in those? Or still free somewhere. He could only hope.  
It took them several days travelling back to one of the human cities. Fen'Fael was unsure which one as he had never ventured close to any for obvious reasons. There were statues of dragons almost everywhere, along with statues of slaves. He could only described them as mournful and utter loss for his people.

It was late in the afternoon as they passed through the market square, and he noticed people gawking at him and the others. He wanted to say or do something to scare them, or even to disgust them a little, but he had no strength to stand, and the gag was too tight for him to speak any words. He felt frustrated, knowing he could do nothing to save his dignity, and failed more so at saving Era'Falon from slavery.  
The slaver leader ahead was riding upon a steed of pure brown, it often gave a snort, the dust getting into its nose. The rider was a weedy sort of man, Fen'Fael noted now they were in closer proximity. The human oozed with a sense of superiority as he made the horse walk with an air of pride. Fen'Fael found the man disgusting.  
"We will stop here for the night, so gather supplies from the shops and find us a suitable place to stay. Carastes should have some fine drinks, find the best ale money can buy!" The man snapped at several of his underlings, his voice was oddly rough, despite his feeble looks.

It took the slavers a short while to do as instructed and were soon all drinking in the local tavern. Fen'Fael struggled with his restraints but they were too tight. He tried to get the attention of the others, but he found it difficult to get any of them to even so much as notice him. Most even seemed resigned to their fate as if it was suppose to be.  
Era'Falon seemed to be the only one whom seemed to want out of the cage. Yet she too seemed unable to do anything to motivate herself free. Then there were the two guards on watch. They seemed alert enough that Fen'Fael knew too much noise would attract their notice and he wanted to avoid that as much as possible.  
He noticed one of the guards was the same elven women from before. She made a few rounds of the other cages before standing at his. She peered in at him through the bars of his cage with a critical eye.  
"You must wonder, " she began. A hint of remorse in her tone, "why do I turn on my own?"  
Fen'Fael managed to nod once, his body still stiff.  
The woman shifted awkwardly on the spot for a moment before finally replying, "I chose to go with a magister in exchange for his aid in helping my clan out of a dangerous situation, I owe that man more than you can guess. He didn't have to aid them, nor agree to my request and yet he did." She paused, a sigh escaping her lips. "I didn't want to do this, but I don't have much choice. If I fail at this, then he cannot guarantee my clans safety."  
She bit her lower lip nervously and then added, "I hope you can at least find a kind person to buy you. I am sorry, again." The women then left Fen'Fael in silence to continue to patrol the cages.


	5. Chapter 5

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

It was another few days, perhaps even weeks before the next city was came into view. Fen'Fael gave up counting the days since the last city. They had not taken any real direct routes as other slavers would often attack others as it was the fastest way of getting new slaves, or so it had been mentioned. Not to Fen'Fael himself, of course but he listened intently to his captives chats, in hopes he may learn more about what happened to the others. Era'Falon had been given to a magister in Carastes and he had been powerless to stop it, his only consolation was that this person had said they would return to the capital in a few months time. He hoped he could free her, if he somehow freed himself first.  
The city they entered was named Minrathous. It was an even bigger city, with bigger statues and monuments than the previous one and Fen'Fael was almost in awe, if not for the impending doom ahead of him which took shape of the unknown future. The remaining slaves had been ushered in to a building that he could only describe as extravagant. Not a sight he was actually expecting, given what little he had heard about Tevinter and how slaves were treated here, let alone new captives.

The remaining elves that had not already been sold on were rushed in to the nearest room, chains still connecting their hands together. Fen'Fael was the only one kept separate from the others, though he too was pushed into one of the rooms. Within were things he only knew from stories of what luxurious human homes were made of.  
There were large baths made of marble, set into the ground. Steam rose from the water which poured out from aqueducts set into the walls. He could tell that no expense had been spared when this place had been made. He almost felt like they had taken him to the wrong place and that perhaps someone far too important would show up.  
Fen'Fael could hear people in the room behind the baths, "keep your magic flames at a low enough power. We are washing new slaves, not cooking them!" He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the word 'slave' for he had no intention of becoming such. He wriggled his hands that were still bound, another foolish attempt to free himself.

One of the robed men in the room walked over to Fen'Fael and took the elf by the chin, "this is the one?" He asked, getting a better look at Fen'Fael's face. The others nodded. Satisfied, the robed man ordered the elf stripped for bathing, a choice Fen'Fael had little choice but to allow as the other men were too strong, and what little resistance he tried was met with firm hands, pushing and shoving until he was sat in the bath and scrubbed clean.  
Fen'Fael felt horrible, words could not describe what he was feeling. He was simply glad nothing more than a bath had been planned for himself, and he could only pray the others were faring more or less the same treatment.  
After the bath came measurements of his form, he could only assume it would be fore slave clothes. And so he stood there, naked while he waited for his 'clothes' to be collected. They had allowed him a small towel to dry himself, but it did little to help showcase any modesty he might have shown. It didn't take them long to bring him something to wear, apparently the clothes were temporary and didn't have to be an exact fit. Once he was clothed hands ushered him into another room, along with the others. They too had new slave uniforms, and had been 'prettied' up for something or other.  
Fen'Fael was no longer bound, but he stilled himself until he caught sight of his brother, though there was no sign of anyone else. He was glad to at least know some of his family was safe, though he wanted to know for sure.  
He tried to get Virgarth's attention, but one of the slavers pushed Fen'Fael back into a line. His brother also seemed unlike himself, Fen'Fael worried that they had drugged him or similar. Like they had done to him in order to capture him.  
The other slaves were also ushered to form a line, though Fen'Fael noticed some of the slavers were whispering between themselves, stealing glances at himself. He gave them an icy stare, his fists clenching tightly.

When several magisters entered the hall where they were lined up, Fen'Fael understood immediately what was happening; they were coming to buy them. He certainly wasn't going to allow it to happen, not if he could help it. With each man that came to look him over, Fen'Fael would either make rude comments or would insult them in elvish, naturally he was hit for even daring to speak, but he did not care.  
It seemed to be working for the most part, or so it seemed. Those who looked at him even a little seemed to not want to get too close to him. However his rudeness only worked for himself as most of the other slaves had been sold to their 'new owners'. His brother was soon next to be taken and Fen'Fael tried hard to get Virgarth's attention, even yelled out his name, twice, but his twin still seemed too out of it to register anything more than the shoving of hands.  
Fen'Fael refused to allow his brother to be taken and he summoned the magic within him, calling forth a bolt of lightening. He aimed his hand at the human who was pushing Virgarth forward, cracking sounding through the hallway.  
As Fen'Fael was about to release his magic, a sharp pain ran through the back of his head and his vision blurred, then went completely as he passed out. One of the slavers had hit him with the hilt of their sword.

"No one told us he was a mage," said one of the owners of the building as they nervously looked down at the elf who they could only class as dangerous.  
"Don't worry about it, he has already been sorted for a master, if they can tame him. If that fails then another is lined up to try. We will send you the details soon enough. Until then, you may want to keep him chained and kept separate from the others" replied the slaver who had hit Fen'Fael. He sneered down at the unconscious elf before continuing, "I do not even want to think what those three are thinking, elves like him are nothing but trouble. You will see."


	6. Chapter 6

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

Fen'Fael groaned as he sat up slowly, his head was throbbing something horrid. He made a mental note to pay back the ass who had hit him.  
Noticing the bonds once again tying his hands together he muttered, loudly. He cursed himself for not being aware of the ones behind him. Though that would have to wait as he realised he was in a whole other place.  
"For the love of a halla's white backside, they moved me while I was unconscious," he cursed, looking around himself warily. The room he was in felt wet. He didn't want to guess as to why. It was dark too, not even a hint of sun found its way into the room. He could only guess the time and how long he may have been unconscious on the floor.  
He tried to move slowly but found it hard to do anything more than kneel as his head ached and caused some dizziness when he tried to exert himself too much. As he moved something touched one of his hands. It was warm, furry and it moved as if startled by his touch.  
Fen'Fael made a disgusted face, "rats too?" He said, sighing heavily in frustration, so far anything he had done seemed fruitless yet he was determined to free himself.

Fen'Fael managed to shuffle over to a wall without too much difficulty, though every so often a squeak made him aware of more rats near him.  
His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, though he still found it hard to truly get a good grasp of his surroundings. As much as he could tell, there was no windows near him if there were indeed any at all, The door too, seemed to be no where near. He assumed it might be on the other side of the room, which seemed fairly large in size.  
He couldn't see anything, but his nose had picked up a rather odd smell, almost like that of rotten flesh. He tried not to think much of it, hoping he was simply smelling something else instead. Though frightening thoughts ran through his mind despite his best efforts to try and not wonder what was in store for him.

The sound of footsteps on cobblestone alerted him to the arrival of at least two or three people. He tensed himself in preparation for what might come, but the footsteps came and went. He gave a sigh of relief, he wasn't sure if he was ready for confrontation just yet and knowing he had a bit more time to collect himself felt like such a relief to him.  
Biting his lower lip nervously he allowed himself a quiet moment to worry about his fate, along with that of his family. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. He had never dealt with humans in this way before, so could he really even save himself let alone his clan?  
He steeled his emotions as best he could and uttered a few words, allowing small sparks of lightening to bounce around his hands, although he could not bring his hands around to the front - it was still enough to give a little light to the room. However he soon wished he hadn't.  
As he expected there were rats everywhere, but what he had not expected was them feeding on corpses, or what was left of the flesh-stripped beings.  
Fen'Fael gagged a few times before turning his focus on the other objects in the room. A table set for sacrificing slaves, chains tied to various other tables and walls, and skeletons attached to several of them.

He hadn't noticed the footsteps returning up the hall outside the room, or a lock being turned, but a sudden gust of wind and light creeping through the slowly opening door alerted him in time enough to see several people entering the room.  
The small sparks of lightening fizzled and faded from his fingertips as a sense of dread washed over him. He had no way of knowing what would happen to him, no way of defending himself and nowhere to run. At best if death was his fate then he could only hope it was quick.

The one in charge seemed to be a somewhat elder woman, whose grey hair had been tied up into a bun. She had an air of arrogance surrounding her and Fen'Fael could smell her perfume of lyrium. He could only take that as a sign that she was a powerful mage whom had strong connections to the dwarfs.

"He doesn't look so tough," the woman said looking Fen'Fael up and down with a critical eye. "He is just another weedy little worm."  
Fen'Fael's eye twitched in irritation. She dared to compare him to any other slave that would be a pushover? It would be a mistake she would soon regret, he thought to himself. Though until his arms were free, he would bide his time for now and wait before showing her what 'a weedy worm' could do.  
"Take in a good look around you, worm. Know what happens if slaves misbehave and do as you are told," the woman said as she motioned her hands to the various torture devices in the room.  
Giving her a bland look, Fen'Fael said nothing.  
"Can. You. Understand?" She said each word slowly as if it might help the elf to understand. "I suppose wild barbarians aren't as smart as proper slaves," she tutted in annoyance.  
Fen'Fael rolled his eyes and spoke with deliberate sarcasm, "or maybe we have a small tolerance for morons like you, and rather just ignore you."  
That earned him a thwack across the cheek from her hand, "how dare you speak like that to me, worm." She said, eyes wide. It was obvious she was not use to slaves speaking back. He deducted that she wasn't one who knew how to deal with elven folk who had not been born into slavery. That meant he could easily annoy her without too much effort on his part. He liked those odds.

A few days had past since and Fen'Fael felt tired. He had spoken back far too much and had been punished more times than he could count. Today's punishment was being denied any meals, and he certainly hadn't been given the option to sleep. Still he refused to give in and so now he was being kept in a room away from the woman's 'guests' as a safety measure.  
Another of her slaves, one more loyal to her, continued to hound him as punishment. Though even this human girl was much nicer than her master. He wondered if it was because she felt sorry for him or that she was not use to torturing others as of yet. At any rate, she did not hurt him in any way, let alone touched him.  
Either way she simply kept yapping on and on about how a good slave should behave. Things Fen'Fael cared little for in the grand scheme of things.  
"So when you go to your new master today, remember that. Are you even listening to me?" She snapped, bringing Fen'Fael to attention.  
"New... master? Has the old hag had enough already?" He mocked, "I suppose she might keel over if she tries any harder."  
The woman sighed deeply, "no that is not it. It is your contract. She only had a while to borrow you, and no harm is to come to you. If you had behaved then you would have been in a good home." She bit her lower lip then said nervously, "He is not as soft, your next test master. He doesn't care for the rules, he will kill you if you do not do well. Just to spite your captures."  
Fen'Fael scoffed loudly, "how can good can being a slave in someone else's home be, this is sickening."  
"For someone use to living in dirt I thought you might understand," she said, giving a perplexed look his way.  
He couldn't understand why these humans kept thinking that's what his life was like.  
"We have homes, you realise? They just happen to be movable. I would rather live free in the woods than as you do, Alessa."  
The woman seemed shocked, it had been the first time he had used her name (or anyone's name for that matter). She didn't quite know what his life was like before, that was true but she had to admit, living free did leave her with some wonder.  
Alessa gave a little smile to Fen'Fael and loosened the ropes keeping him from sitting down. This gave him a moment to rest on the floor though he did appear shocked she had done so.  
"Won't this land you in trouble?" He questioned her, though he showed no emotion upon his face; a trait he had quickly learned, "I do not want you being sacrificed or punished for insolence... I saw that room first-hand."  
Alessa shook her head, "She isn't the one who uses that room. Her husband does, but he has been away for a while. I do not know when, or even if he will return. The mistress hates the room, so she only uses it for scare tactics. "  
Fen'Fael raised a brow, "I can see why. I was worried a great deal when I woke up there. But they could at least clean it once in a while, the rats were disgusting! And that's not even the worst of it!"  
Alessa shook her head, not really knowing how to respond. She had never been into the room.  
"I wish you luck, either way," was her only reply for the rest of the evening as they stayed, sat on the floor in silence.


	7. Chapter 7

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

It had been a week since Fen'Fael had changed households, or as near as he could guess how long it had been. Alessa had been right in what she had told him about his new master being more vicious, and now he sat there on the floor, blood dripping down his scarred back from the whip marks that had been lashed upon him. Fen'Fael's only regret was that he wished he had listened to Alessa, and not attempted to attack his new 'master' in such a rage. However, he wasn't going to sit back and watch as the man hurt an innocent slave in the way that he had. All the slave had done was accidentally drop a plate. He had been apologetic about it, but that hadn't seemed to matter to their 'master' and he had beat the slave badly because of it.  
This new master's name escaped Fen'Fael's memory, but he knew one thing: this human deserved the worst kind of retribution for all that he had done to the others.  
As such, Fen'Fael had taken a kitchen knife and managed to swipe at the man, cutting his ear quite badly. Fen'Fael loathed the man and hoped that his new found mark would be a reminder to not take slaves for granted, though he doubted that would ever be the case. Especially since the only result gained from Fen'Fael's action was his punishment in the basement.

Fen'Fael spat at the humans feet, a mix of blood and spit. "Next time I'll aim for your eyes you dragon humping son of a qunari," he said smirking as he watched the man seethe with anger at his deformed ear, not to mention the elf adding insult to injury.  
The slave standing behind Fen'Fael was silently given an order to lash another round of whipping upon Fen'Fael's back after the insult and he cried out from the pain that he could only describe of as unbearable. He wanted to keep himself from showing his pain to the human bastard, yet he could not withhold his pained yelps. Nothing could compare to the pain he was being put through, yet he knew it could and most likely would only get worse from here. He felt no love for the slave either, but he knew that if given the choice they would rather be anywhere else than here. The look of pity on the slaves face was enough evidence to show they did not take pleasure in any of this.

"You will learn your place, elf," the man said, smearing the blood from his ear over the tips of his fingers. "Or you will die a slow and painful death. I don't care what that bastard says, you will pay for this."  
Fen'Fael stared up at the man, his look a quiet glare as he watched the human brush his white locks of hair out of his way, some blood had made its way onto the snowy strands. Fen'Fael gripped his hands into fists while keeping both hands firmly upon the dirty ground in the room they were in. He had managed to sneak some dirt into his hands upon doing so, waiting for the moment in which he could throw it into the humans eyes.  
At this moment in time Fen'Fael could not care less if he died, so long as he took the bastard shem with him.

Waiting with baited breath Fen'Fael kept still as his glaring eyes locked with the man who loomed over him.  
It didn't take long before the human leaned down to grip the elf's hair, giving Fen'Fael the chance he needed to throw the dirt he had in his hands; towards at the man's face.  
As the man recoiled away, Fen'Fael lunged forward, pushing the human down and grabbing the dagger from the man's belt. It didn't take long before Fen'Fael had him pinned down, dagger pressed against the humans neck. Blood slowly beginning to emerge from a cut that was slowly being made by the sharp blade.  
It wasn't until he felt a powerful force push him across the room, that he realised his foe was actually a mage himself. He should have guessed it seeing as most of the powerful people in the human lands were mages, yet the human had not shown any signs of it until now.  
Fen'Fael felt his head smack against the wall, the force enough to make him feel nauseous. It didn't take long until the elf could feel his conscious slipping in and out. He held his head, groaning in agony but he knew that if he didn't pull himself together quickly, then the human lord would kill him before he could stand and gather his composure enough to fight back or at the very least defend himself.

Fen'Fael could just about make out a muffled chatter from somewhere ahead of himself, but he couldn't make out just who's voice it was. It didn't seem like the man or slave in this room had spoken; but then his hearing was just as fuzzy as his sight and making out anything was troubling to him. Had he really been knocked against the stone wall that hard?  
Slipping in and out of consciousness again; Fen'Fael couldn't tell if it was simply his eyes tricking him, or if light had entered the room from somewhere. He was certain however that voices were being raised, an argument maybe? However he couldn't concentrate on the words and he was beginning to feel sick. His head throbbed with pain and he couldn't tell if it was bleeding or not. Either way he knew that this was the end for him, there could be no possible way for him to fight back. He was just too weak and he could feel himself slipping into dreaded blackness.


	8. Chapter 8

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

"How is he?" Asked a youthful looking human adult. His light brown eyes peered down at an unconscious male elf; Fen'Fael. He made a displeased sound through his lips and rolled his eyes, "that man always goes too far with slaves."  
An elderly woman shook her head as she waved her hands over the elf's form, using her healing magic to do what she could with the wounds. "He is lucky not to be dead, in all honesty," she replied in a dry tone, "are you sure this is a good idea? He might not even want to live anymore."  
The man chuckled, "he'll want to live, don't you worry about that. That's the wonderful thing about wild elven boys, they have too much pride." The man gave the woman a smirk and she could only compare him to a cat with a new mouse to kill.  
"I have done all I can, master. The rest will be up to him." She said, tiredly taking a few steps back. She gave a short curtsy and with the sound of shuffling feet; left the two of them alone in the room.  
A warm fire crackled in the fireplace off to the other side of the room, it wasn't a luxurious room, but it had enough space for a bed, a small bedside table and a bear rug upon the floor with the fireplace built into the wall. There was a single painting on the wall above the fireplace; it was of a dragon taking flight in front of a red shining sun.

It didn't take Fen'Fael overly long to stir awake, a surprise in and of itself. He was sure that man would have finished him off and he couldn't remember anything after he had passed out. However, he took note that despite the pain he still felt; it seemed as though someone had patched him up with bandages and at least attempted to heal him. Though this was merely a guess at how he felt and the snug feeling he felt around his body. His vision was still mildly blurry, but his focus was slowly returning as he focused on the ceiling.

He hadn't noticed another body in the room until it spoke, "awake? Good, you had us worried for a moment." It said in a strangely soothing tone, something Fen'Fael was not expecting to happen when he awoke (if he awoke at all). The voice was certainly male, but he couldn't tell just whose it belonged too.  
Panic washed over Fen'Fael however, and he sat up in the bed too quickly in an attempt to try and escape from whoever was now standing over him. Firm but careful hands ushered him to lay back down and Fen'Fael attempted to fight the man off of him.  
"There's no need for worry, you are safe now, little one." Said the voice, taking hold of Fen'Fael's wrist to keep the elf from throwing any punches.  
Feeling woozy, Fen'Fael gave into the gentle pushing and laid back down upon the bed, though he did so under no will to be compliant.  
It seemed to take forever for his sight to return back to normal focus and Fen'Fael took the time to check out his surroundings. There was only one window in the room, but it was blocked by three bars, no escape that way. The door likely had a lock on it and the fireplace though it gave warmth; was far too small that only a child might be able to squeeze up through the vent. Fen'Fael cursed in his mind for the bad luck he seemed to have.

Fen'Fael's eyes finally fell upon the human stood near his bed, he seemed far too clean and proper to be a servant or slave, yet from what he had learned of the people here; it felt unlikely that the 'master' of the house would check up on him without anyone else. Yet here this man was; fine clothes, perfectly combed hair which had been raised into a long ponytail and not to mention how well manicured the man's fingernails seemed to be. It might not have been something Fen'Fael would have usually picked up on, if not for the fact that the shem was asking annoying questions such as; "how many fingers do I have up?"  
He guessed it was to make sure Fen'Fael was able to see correctly. A blind slave was no use to anyone except for maybe a blood sacrifice, so for now the elf indulged in the questions asked.

After the man seemed to be done with his questions, Fen'Fael dared to ask a question himself, "what happened to the man from earlier?"  
A shrug was given in response, "I had him taken away. He had a lot of things that went against him, most I could not tolerate any longer. Contracts are nothing to sneeze at and he broke his." The man said with a disinterested tone of voice, he gave the elf a thoughtful look then continued, "I suppose I caught him in the act of almost killing you, and since he no longer needs any slaves I brought you here to heal your wounds. Seemed like a waste to kill a perfectly fit elf. You can thank me later when you've healed."

Fen'Fael's eyes rolled at the notion, "I doubt it. I'm not a house pet if that's what you assume. Though I might be a little thankful for not dying to that dragon humping-" Fen'Fael was cut off as the man held up a hand to silence him; an act that worked much to the elf's surprise.  
"I know this already. You're an elf from the wilds, likely caught because slavers think all elven folk are easy to tame, but they oft bite off more than they can chew."  
"I-... uh, yeah. How did you know?"  
"I know everything about everyone. Or so I've been told. Not that it was hard to find out that much in the few days you've been unconscious."  
Fen'Fael seemed uneasy at the mention of having been out of it for that long, not to mention someone digging into his personal information. He wondered how much more this man knew. He wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to that. Instead he asked another, more simple question, "who are you, exactly?"  
"Velius Adrastos. You probably haven't heard of me yet, not if you were in his company all this time. You may call me Master Adrastos, or Lord Adrastos if you still feel uneasy at the 'master' title." He human replied as he gave a polite nod in greeting.  
Scoffing, the elf narrowed his eyes at Velius and spoke with an obnoxious tone, "I'd rather call you 'dragon-loving ass' number two. So what now? Are you my 'NEW' master for the day?"

An amused laughter escaped Velius' lips as he raised a hand to them and waved his other in a dismissive motion, "Gods no, it doesn't work like that."  
Fen'Fael felt even more annoyed than had the answer been yes, "what does that mean?" He asked pointedly.  
"You have no master in a round about way, since that man is deep in debt to me, but that doesn't mean you're free to go home." The man said, no longer laughing, "If you leave this place, you'd be forced to be enslaved again – if they did not outright kill you for what you did to that man. He was not amused when I showed up, but is even less so now that I stole you from him." Velius explained, "You are safe for the moment since he does not have the influence that I hold, and he would rather give you up than admit an elf had almost managed to beat him in a fight. Once you leave here, you will find no protection however. He still can demand you be put to punishment or death unless you gain a new master or never leave this place."

Fen'Fael seemed a little unsure what to make of things. If he left then he could be killed if not simply taken back by that person, yet he wasn't sure that Velius would be kind enough to let a free-loader live here. He wanted to just leave this stupid human city, never look back and to forget it ever happened, but he couldn't do that. He still had to find and free what was left of his clan.  
As if reading Fen'Fael's thoughts, Velius spoke up, "I heard from the slavers that they had captured a couple other elves along with yourself which I can safely assume was your family, and seeing as I am sure you would rather not allow Marcos to once again take a hold of your leash; why don't you offer your services to me?"  
Fen'Fael's brow raised in a cynical look, this human knew about his family as well? Not to mention he was actually asking. Nobody simple asks another to become a slave, do they?  
Velius gave another little chuckle as he watched the elf for his reaction, "I am saying this because you won't find another human with as much influence as I do when it comes to finding and freeing your family. Let alone one willing to do this. It is your choice, naturally, but I wanted you to know your options."  
Still reserving his judgement, Fen'Fael asked, "what do you want from me in return, exactly? Just a willing slave? I am not-"  
"A bodyguard, actually. Though yes. A willing one is preferable. If you are not willing, then the matter is already decided by you, is it not?" Velius cut him off.  
Fen'Fael looked aside, his expression one of thoughtfulness. He wasn't sure about the whole thing. Still, this human said he was willing to find and free the others? Maybe even himself once he had paid off any debt to the man? Fen'Fael bit the bottom of his lip in a nervous manner. Did he really want to agree to become this man's personal bodyguard, if that's the word he wished to use for a willing slave?

Velius smiled as he patiently waited for an answer from the elf. He felt no desire to rush the other to come to his choice, after all it was something that would change a lot of things for him, and he would need to come to terms with it on his own; if Fen'Fael indeed chose this option, which Velius smugly believed the elf would.  
The human man loved being right in his thoughts, "alright... but I refuse to be some kind of slave... a bodyguard sounds... fine... but you have to promise me to find and free my family. No matter what!" Fen'Fael's response firmly came.  
"You have my word. No matter the cost, correct?" Velius said smiling softly, a smile as gentle as that made Fen'Fael shudder. Something about Velius still made him very uneasy, and he felt as though he would regret agreeing to the whole thing sooner or later.


	9. Chapter 9

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

Velius' home was bigger than anything Fen'Fael could have guessed. It was bigger than either of the houses he had previously been in and those had been more akin to a small village than one person's place of rest. He could only hope he would remember his way around the place. It took Fen'Fael several attempts to take in that Velius had earned it all mostly by himself. His company – or whatever it was – did extremely well within the human cities.  
He was simply amazed by the grandeur of everything, not just the scale of the building but the luxurious items within as well. He had asked if Velius was the son of a long line of noblemen or something similar, but that had just made the man laugh with amusement. It had turned out to be partly true, his father was a magistrate and his mother had been from a family of powerful mages; but Velius' fortune was mostly his own doing.

Fen'Fael also learned that Velius was married to some woman of similar wealth, but her family was not as renowned and thus they hoped the marriage would be of some profit to them. Velius seemed a little irritable about the subject and would not speak further about it when Fen'Fael tried to prompt the topic.  
It had been a week since he had woken up and made the deal with the shem, but so far Fen'Fael seemed to be finding it a whole lot more enjoyable than the last two places. He wondered if it was simply because he had agreed to it this time, or if it was because Velius was strangely pleasant to talk too.  
In either case, Fen'Fael's oddly placed enjoyment meant that he felt far more relaxed. It was still a far cry from being free, but he felt more hopeful than he had previously. The attitude of the other slaves was also a factor in the larger scheme of things. They were very happy in their work and when Fen'Fael had questioned them, they seemed to want to be here. Most even told Fen'Fael that they too had wanted to be free once and made a deal with Velius but after he had completed the deeds, they agreed to stay for as long as he wished.  
Fen'Fael wasn't sure if this was out of thanks for what he did for them, or if he had scared them into it, but the way they seemed so happy about it, the answer was obvious to anyone.  
It said a lot about a man – let alone a human – when even your slaves enjoyed working for you. Even if they didn't know any better about being free, slaves would know what type of people were good or bad. Or at least which ones to avoid getting angry.

Velius wouldn't allow Fen'Fael to leave the house, though he said this was mostly for the elf's own safety until the paperwork had been sorted out. Apparently one had to lawfully 'own' someone, but Fen'Fael could not have cared less about that sort of thing. All he knew was if Velius said he was free publicly then no one could do a damned thing about it. That was all that truly mattered to him at the moment. Freeing his family from this nightmare.  
Though Velius had promised that if Fen'Fael behaved himself then perhaps he would be allowed to make use of the garden grounds out back. There would be no possible way of escaping at all since Velius had shown him the size of the walls of the gardens from within one of the tallest rooms. The garden as a whole was big enough to snugly fit in the whole clan, Fen'Fael had taken note. He noticed a small wooded area, enough trees to almost make one feel homesick for the outdoors. Needless to say, Fen'Fael longed to explore the garden. If for no other reason than to feel more at ease.

Most days were uneventful, and today was one such day. It seemed most of Velius' work was paperwork, but he also met with a lot of people. A lot of which, Fen'Fael noticed seemed high-class though there were others who seemed far less so. Fen'Fael wondered who each of them were and although he had been told to simply stay quiet and guard there had been the odd time he asked Velius a question or two about the more questionable people.  
No answers were given, however. It was all small details and nothing for him to 'worry' about apparently. Fen'Fael's gut told him there was more to these thugs than Velius made it seem, but there was little he could do but try and trust the man's words. The other slaves did not know who they were either, only that they often met with the master and would be gone again without anyone really paying them any mind. The one thing they did know was that these people worked for Velius with some task or other.

It had been only a short time – maybe a couple of hours since they had made it to the study room. Some of the 'questionable' people had come and gone, one had seemed familiar to Fen'Fael, but he couldn't place the face anywhere. Either way the man had made the elf feel nervous and this caused him to ask though Fen'Fael tried not to pry too much into things when he took note of how unimpressed Velius seemed with him. Though it seemed less to do with him asking questions and more to do with the fact that it had distracted him from his job: guarding. Plus Velius' work was only being slowed down every time he had to stop to answer the elf's questions.  
Now that he was quiet, the human seemed content with the elf and once again returned to writing down on the parchment in front of himself. Fen'Fael wasn't able to make out the words as the man seemed to be writing in a language he wasn't familiar with: Tevinter. His mother had taught Fen'Fael how to read and write elvish – what was known of it – and the more southern human tongue as most other clans spoke in that tongue after been enslaved for so long.

It took a few more hours of awkward silence before the elf finally felt relieved that Velius was done with his paperwork as the human put the various bits into a tidy pile and slipped them into one of his draws. Despite his work being done, the man seemed irritable again though he gave no indication as to why.  
Fen'Fael just hoped that it wasn't serious and that he wouldn't actually be needed to guard the man just yet. After all he wasn't entirely sure if he trusted Velius still and he knew that he had no real loyalty for the man. Without either of those things, Fen'Fael was unsure if he would be able to go through with the deal to protect him. This would likely leave him in a bad way, but still, how could he protect someone he didn't even care about? Deal or no deal, would it be possible?  
Fen'Fael's thoughts were taken from him when he noticed the shem had moved from his chair at the desk and was now peering at him from the doorway. The elf felt a little embarrassed that he had gotten so lost in thought that he almost tripped over his own feet when trying to rush forward.  
Luckily the human found the amusing side of it and simply chuckled, rolled his eyes and then turned and walked out of the room and headed down the hallway.

"I expect certain people won't be too happy with how things go for a while, so I will need you to be more alert. Within the next few days, things should get..." Velius paused for a moment, an almost amused smile playing upon his lips, "...interesting." He finished off with a mild shrug.  
Fen'Fael gave the man a pointed look, "and you're... happy about that?" He asked, seeming rather unamused. They passed a maid as they continued down the hallway. She gave a polite curtsey to Velius but upon seeing Fen'Fael she became nervous. The slaves paid him no mind for the most part but the servants who were paid to do a job? That was a whole other issue. Unlike the slaves, the maids were citizens who chose to be there, or as much as anyone could choose in a city run by mages. They also shared rumours between households of various types of rebellious slaves – who were jealous of them and would hurt them.  
Of course most of that was untrue, normal slaves wouldn't even dream of harming another, for fear of being punished. Fen'Fael however, was not a normal slave and as such, the rumours of the things he had done to his previous 'master'? Those rumours had been exaggerated even more so. As if the truth had not been bad enough.  
Fen'Fael scowled at the woman, causing her to back away into one of the offside rooms as if he were some wild animal. Though he felt that is truly what she thought of him. He was a 'wild' slave after all.  
Satisfied with his ability to scare people into leaving him alone, Fen'Fael was somewhat glad of his position as guard as it meant he could get away with things such as this. He, in fact, found it pleasurable to have an easier time when it came with dealing with the rest of the staff at Velius' household.

"You may return to your quarters now, little one." Velius said as they came to his destination of his bedroom. It was still a little early, Fen'Fael noticed, but the remark of 'little one' had annoyed him. Again.  
"I have a name." He said, irritably, "if you cared so much to use it."  
A chuckled escaped Velius' lips, "and if you cared so much to call me master, I might consider to use it." He teased though Fen'Fael did not find him funny at all.  
"I'd rather die first," the elf retorted, his eyes rolling as he turned to walk away, but before he could move very far Velius' hand caught hold of the elf's wrist. This surprised the elf, as he had not expected to be stopped for such a remark.  
Their eyes locked, neither spoke for a moment before Velius said in an almost kind tone, "you won't be dying anytime soon, I happen to like you, as well as need you. Now try and get some rest. Tomorrow I want to head into town, and I need you with me."


	10. Chapter 10

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky,  
Hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye.  
Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber,  
Softening the rolling thunder.  
Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense.  
During this, your last hour, only silence."

A feeling of nervous excitement washed over the elf as Fen'Fael paced back and forth before the door to the outside world. He was feeling impatient and wondered what was taking so long for Velius to meet him so they could go out as had been promised the night before.  
He almost felt like a puppy waiting to go for a walk with its owner. A thought that displeased him, but at the same time he could not deny it. It surely felt that way with how eager he was to venture out and to see for himself what life was like outside. He had not been able to go out with either of the other humans and Velius had kept him inside for a good while too. For an elf who was more accustomed to forests and open spaces this was a difficult time for Fen'Fael.

It seemed like forever before Velius appeared on top of the staircase. He seemed to be holding something in his hands but Fen'Fael couldn't quite make it out at first. It wasn't until Velius had reached the bottom of the stairs before he realised what it was: a leash of some kind.  
Fen'Fael hissed openly and gave the other man a pointed look, "do you expect me to wear that?"  
"You can stay here if you want. Otherwise yes. At least until I can trust you not to run off." Velius replied calmly.  
Fen'Fael wrinkled his nose. He felt even more like an animal now. He shifted on the spot, unsure if he wanted to put up with such a demeaning thing or if staying inside the house forever was a more logical situation after all.  
Velius seemed to notice the elf's discontent and lifted a hand to give the other an almost comforting stroke to the cheek, "the sooner you get use to these things the faster you can uphold your end of the bargain to protect me, and the sooner I can safely find and help your family." He said soothingly, "otherwise you'll be stuck with me for a lot longer."

Fen'Fael gave a frown and looked off to the side in an irritable mood however, he gave a very quick nod to Velius to show he understood the situation. He may not have liked it, but if this was to save his family then he would put aside his pride and wear whatever he needed to.  
A strange sensation washed over him as Velius carefully placed a leather collar around Fen'Fael's neck. It made him shudder.  
"There has been magic cast upon it, mostly to keep your own magic in check, but also so that you cannot take it off. Not without the correct prompt anyway." Velius explained though Fen'Fael found it hard to judge the man's motive or emotions behind why he was being told any of this. It did not seem like the other wished him distress, yet why else would it even be mentioned?  
Then he realised something, "I do not recall ever mentioning my magic," he said raising a questioning eyebrow.  
"You haven't kept it hidden either," Velius replied, a smile sweeping over his lips before he continued, "though I know a lot about you, regardless."  
"How much?" Fen'Fael questioned, seeming uneasy about the whole thing. He knew hardly anything about Velius, except that he had a great deal of influence in the city.

Velius buckled up the collar and then attached the rope to a metal hoop. The rope was rather long but not long enough to give a whole lot of distance between them.  
"More than enough." Was the humans only response to Fen'Fael's question. It was almost as if the man was hiding more than he gave away, and that was a dangerous thing. Fen'Fael took note of what it could mean. It either implied that Velius knew too much which would be bad, or that he was lying in hopes that Fen'Fael would slip up and mention more about himself than he currently wished. Either way he felt at a true disadvantage.

"Shall we go then, my little one?" Velius said, putting a hand to the lock of the door. A sound of what seemed to be unlocking rang through the hall and Fen'Fael realised the whole house was enchanted to keep people in. He could not be sure if it was magic or dwarven runes that enabled such as both were known to grant such abilities, it could even be both for all he knew. Either way it meant he would not be allowed to come and go as he pleased. Though this, he knew already.

Fen'Fael had to stop often to allow Velius to catch up with him so that the leash didn't pull at his neck. He never imagined that the city would have seemed so wonderful to see. The sights and smells were like nothing he had ever experienced before and he had never seen so many people in one place before. It was an experience he would never forget, that much he knew.  
Surprisingly there were hardly as many elven people around as he thought there may have been, but the ones he did see were far too busy to take notice of him as they scuttled around quickly and quietly. Almost as to avoid any notice to themselves.

Those that did take note of Fen'Fael made more effort to stay out of the way. Some seemed afraid of him and others had pity in their eyes. He stared back at them. Unsure if he should put much thought into their responses towards his appearance.  
The reactions towards Velius was even more curious to Fen'Fael it was as if they didn't even pay him any attention other than to make sure they were not hindering his path. It seemed odd that they almost seemed to either not care about his presence or otherwise were trying not to get his attention by being as out of the way as possible.  
Velius, on the other hand, was amused by the reactions of both the other slaves but mostly by Fen'Fael's. It always amused him to see his wild barbaric slaves take notice of the city born ones and he smirked broadly while watching his pet elf.  
Velius gave the elf a few moments to take it all in before he encouraged the move forward. He had somewhere to be, after all.

Upon arrival to the building that Velius had chosen, an older man greeted the man with a respectable greeting and a formal bow. He spoke in a language that Fen'Fael couldn't understand. He simply assumed it was Tevinter, or whatever the language was named.  
The elder male gave Fen'Fael a strange look before heading towards a desk further back into the shop. He returned with some measuring tape and without even caring if the elf minded he began to take Fen'Fael's measurements.  
Apparently Fen'Fael was to be given proper clothes. This wasn't what Fen'Fael expected but he was glad of it. The ones he was wearing were far too big for him as Velius had thrown away the ripped and bloodied ones from before.

The old man spoke more gibberish and looked Fen'Fael up and down critically before saying in the common tongue, "he looks pretty good all things considered. But I can't tell why you amuse yourself with dirt like this filthy knife ear. One raised here would be just as good and easier to deal with in the long run."  
Fen'Fael took offence of the knife ear comment and uttered a low growl.  
The old man took Fen'Fael's chin into his hand, ignoring the elf's growl, "he looks good, but that is his only redeeming quality."  
Velius laughed and rubbed Fen'Fael's head, "but a city born one would never growl at anyone, and I do need him to be intimidating, otherwise he isn't any use to me."  
The growling stopped as Fen'Fael looked off to the side, he seemed to grow more annoyed with the two but at the same time it only made him feel even more like a stray dog than before. He wanted to protest but before he could say anything he was ushered into a small room, the rope removed and given some underclothes to put on. They were basic and plain but fitted rather well.

"The armour you requested in the letter will need to be modified a slight as to fit correct but it shall not take overly long. He is simply a little taller than expected." The old man said as he dragged out what Fen'Fael could only stare at. It was elvish armour or at least a close remake of one.  
He gave a puzzled glance to Velius but could not quite make out why he had chosen this particular set. He moved to take a closer look, standing in nothing but his pants. He was surprised to see that it was much lighter looking than the usual warrior armour that his clan used yet it looked just as strong if not more so.

The old man said something again in Tevinter, a smirk falling upon his face. He glanced at Fen'Fael and then back to Velius, who waved him off with a chuckle. Velius replied in the same tongue and gave a shrug.  
It annoyed the elf as he felt they were talking about him yet he couldn't understand any of it. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the two humans with no amusement showing on his face. He didn't like the thought that they may be up to something, or perhaps was mocking him.  
Fen'Fael found his right arm being pulled outwards as the older gentleman seemingly inspected it and then his body. The elf felt even more paranoid now as he felt like he was under some kind of scrutiny and being judged on his looks alone. He may have the magic skills to know how to use a sword as well as his magic but he was still no real warrior. His skills relied on magic more than brute strength.

"I had no idea a man who made armour would be able to judge a man's ability to fight," he said with a cocky tone. This merely made the two humans to laugh as if Fen'Fael had made some kind of joke. This annoyed him further.  
The old man smirked at Velius, "I take it he is not 'yours' yet then."  
"No, but you can see why I picked him."  
"Oh certainly. There is no mistake as to why. If I were into that sort of thing or if he were female, I think I would make him mine too. Why do you wait, though?"  
Fen'Fael became more confused as the two talked. Technically wasn't he already Velius' property? Not that he liked the term, but that's what he was to these two and any other human in this city. Their chat made no sense.  
He frowned at the two humans but both paid no attention to him. Soon the elder one set back to working on the armour but the two continued to talk. Most of it was about unimportant things that did not interest Fen'Fael in the slightest.  
After the armour was fixed the old man made Fen'Fael try it on, making sure the measurements were correct. Once happy with it Fen'Fael was allowed to wear it out of the store. Velius paid what was owed and the two of them continued down the streets, Fen'Fael being led by the rope.


	11. Chapter 11

"I'm frightened by what I see  
But somehow I know  
That there's much more to come  
Immobilized by my fear  
And soon to be  
Blinded by tears  
I can stop the pain  
If I will it all away  
If I will it all away"

A long sigh escaped Fen'Fael's lips as he rested his cheek against the cold slab of a stone table. His 'master' as the dwarf had annoyingly put it, had to fill in some paperwork, though for what; Fen'Fael had not been told. All he knew, was that it was taking entirely too long and having to wait in another room while this happened was equally boring as it was timely. His only companion in the room was a black and white cat, that Fen'Fael could swear upon the creators names; was just as stuck up and irritating as the people of this city. It had hissed at his attempts at petting it, and made a swipe at the elf's hand. Now, it simply cleaned it's claws in perfect defiance.  
"Oh sure, befriend wolves like some you're some kind of fan of Fen'Harel, but any other animal and they instantly hate you, like you pissed in their water." Fen'Fael mocked himself openly, not having noticed anyone entering the room until the clearing of their throat made him look up. Bewildered he blinked and peered up at them, taking in who it was.

"I was not aware you spoke to yourself, Fen'Fael. You know, the humans have this saying... 'talking to yourself is a sign of madness' though I suppose giving our situation, it's a wonder we aren't all mad here." The male elf said, as he moved into the room further and began to dust up any cobwebs or dust that he could find.  
"Kerrav? But... what are you doing away from the rest of the clan?" Fen'Fael asked, his tone clearly showing his confusion.  
"Well," Kerrav said, not stopping in his task, "not long after you few left to venture for trinkets, the rest of us were cornered and collected by slavers. An elf we thought we had rescued had turned out to be a trap. She led them straight to us." He replied, his tone quiet and forlorn.  
Fen'Fael gave a low growl, "does that mean all of the clan have been enslaved?"  
A vase fell to the floor with a resounding smash, Kerrav seemed to panic for a moment as he looked to the open door. No one seemed to have heard it, luckily. He then turned to face Fen'Fael with a sorrowed look, "no." He said, his voice breaking, "they killed a lot more of us than they captured. And even those that had been captured have ended up dying along the way, or while here. I am the last alive of our group. What of your group? Your mother? Brother? Era'Falon?"

Fen'Fael shook his head, "Era'Falon was given to a woman, but they should be here in the city, somewhere by now. I do not know what happened to the others."  
Kerrav sighed and ran a hand through red locks, his green eyes moved to peer at the floor, "maybe they got away... hoping your group was alright, was all that kept me going, really, but I do not know how much more I can take, knowing what these people have done to us."  
Fen'Fael shook his head, "we can still get out of this, Kerrav. I am going to do what I can to free us, I swear it."  
"Free us? Like that?" Kerrav said pointed at Fen'Fael's collar, "do not think it has not escaped me, that you are just as trapped as me, if not more so. Do you even know who your 'master' is?"  
Looking down at the stone table, Fen'Fael frowned, "he is an irritable man, that is true, and while I hate this blasted thing on my neck, he and I have a deal. My skills in return for him finding and freeing my clan."  
A laugh escaped Kerrav's lips, "you don't do you? Festis bei umo canavarum." He sighed and shook his head, returning to cleaning the room and evidence of the broken item.

Fen'Fael frowned deeply as he eyed up Kerrav with a scornful look, "Fes...what? You speak their language?" He demanded to know.  
"It means you will be the death of me." Kerrav replied, mostly blanking the other elf out from his attention, "and I know a little, yes. I have been here for a long time now. Look, just be wary of your master. He is not as he seems."  
"He is NOT my master." Fen'Fael stated coldly, "I have not given up my freedom, not yet. I listen to him, only for the sake of the clan. And knowing you are here too, I will do what I can to free you as well. Even if you are being strangely cold at the moment."  
Kerrav tried to protest, but the two was interrupted by a yell of, "What are ye doin' that takes ye so long! Stupid elf!"  
Kerrav stayed where he was, Fen'Fael could tell that his old friend was shaking out of fear and he realised that the broken vase was the cause, and a beating would come if caught.  
Fen'Fael quickly stood up and pushed Kerrav out of the door, "go, I'll take the blame for the vase." He whispered quickly.  
Kerrav still seemed wary, but he nodded slowly, "if it is you, then they won't hurt you without permission from that man..." he trailed his words off, not wanting to keep his own master waiting for much longer. He rushed as quickly as he could without running in the hall way, leaving Fen'Fael to think on the news that he had collected. Kerrav was part of the clan, so the deal included him too, though learning the rest of the clan had been killed dealt a major blow to Fen'Fael's heart. The clan was not a large one, but their family ties were stronger for it.  
He could only hope that his brother and mother were alive, if not free.

It did not take long for someone to notice Fen'Fael picking up the pieces of the vase, a young dwarven women with blonde hair and brown eyes. She made an unamused, "tsk" sound and came into the room with a scornful look at the elf, though she said nothing to him and merely gave him a light thwack over the head. Enough to let him know that she was not happy about the whole thing, but not enough to harm him. Fen'Fael realised it was as Kerrav had said. She dared not harm him without permission, even though he could tell she was angrier than she let on.  
Finally she ordered him to stand out of the way while she collected the fragments and to just sit down and to not move any further. The cat in the meantime had moved to sit in the single chair in the room now that it was not occupied, and Fen'Fael felt like even the feline was mocking his position of 'slave' and thus, he sat on the floor in a huff.

It was another couple of immensely long hours before Fen'Fael saw another soul besides the unsociable cat. Velius, who he assumed had finished his work with the dwarven people. He raised an eyebrow at the elf and asked, almost mockingly, "have you been so shamed by your new role that even a cat now commands you?"  
Fen'Fael hissed, "no, but unlike you, the cat has claws and teeth."  
The man laughed, shaking his head, "I am no cat, this is true, but it would not be wise to think I am harmless, my little pet."  
Fen'Fael pouted, "I am not 'your little pet' and you're not an animal. I have no respect for you, like I do the cat, even if it does act like it owns everyone. It at least is cute enough to get away with it."  
Velius laughed again, and made a motion for Fen'Fael to follow with his head, "I do not know if I should be more insulted by the idea that you respect an animal more than you do me, or that you find a cat cuter than myself. After all, I think I am rather handsome, if I don't say so myself and I do say so."  
A snicker escaped Fen'Fael's lips, almost to his own surprise. He hadn't expected to find Velius had a sense of humour, and even if the human had been serious, it didn't seem to matter much. It was a relief to find that Fen'Fael's sarcastic wit was not lost on the man. Any other human here, and the elf knew he would have gotten a beating or worse death for insulting someone of higher rank than himself.

"My dashingly good looks aside, it is latter than I had hoped it would be. The trip I had planned as a treat to you, will have to wait until tomorrow." Velius said with a sigh, though he smiled at Fen'Fael all the same.  
"A trip? To treat me? What for?" The elf asked, almost cautiously, but he could not hide the fact that he was interested.  
"For your good behaviour. Even if you did try and pretend to break the vase." The man chuckled, though Fen'Fael gave a look of worry and it was evident as to what it was that had him worried. "Do not think about it overly much. I am assuming he was a friend? He will be fine, if a little beaten. There is nothing you can do for him for now, but I will assume you want me to buy his contract? It will take time, and some... planning, but I can certainly do that. So long as he keeps himself out of trouble for a while."  
Fen'Fael glanced behind him as they made their way out of the building, he still could not help but worry for Kerrav.


	12. Chapter 12

"I'm frightened by what I see  
But somehow I know  
That there's much more to come  
Immobilized by my fear  
And soon to be  
Blinded by tears  
I can stop the pain  
If I will it all away  
If I will it all away"

It had bothered him the whole way back to Velius' place and once there Fen'Fael finally picked up the courage to ask, "how did you figure out it wasn't me who broke the vase? Or rather the other elf? I mean, the cat could have easily done it too."  
The human chuckled again, "the dwarves are no fools. Your friend has broken a few vases in his time there, apparently and besides," Velius paused for a moment to open the front door, "your friend is really bad at lying and told the truth within moments of them asking what had happened. I guess he did not want you to get into trouble, seeing as the dwarves would only want me to teach you better manners. It is unusual for one of my rank to have such a..."

Fen'Fael cut Velius' words short as he said with a snarled tone, "...barbaric idiotic wild brute of an elf?"  
The human shrugged, "more or less. Though that would have been their words, not mine."  
With a frown, Fen'Fael asked,"and what would you call me then?" He slowly moved into the house, feeling rather annoyed and worried once more about his friend.  
"I think you have... a personal charm to you, if you must know. I wouldn't worry too much about it, my little pet." Velius laughed, "unless my opinion is that important to you?"  
"Not your 'pet'." Fen'Fael sighed, "and no, I do not really care what you think of me. We have a deal, and that is all I care about." He said with a huff.  
"Then do not think too much of things of little importance to you." Velius said calmly as he removed his long coat and handed it to Fen'Fael to hang up.  
The youthful elf did so without being told, though he did show his annoyance with a mumbled complaint. He glanced over his shoulder to the human man, watching him give some orders to an older elf servant.  
"What exactly is your position anyway? You never did tell me." Fen'Fael confessed as he recalled Kerrav's words to him.  
The other man smiled over to Fen'Fael and said simply, "a powerful man, I own a very... good business here in the city. My father is also a magistrate and I his heir. Though my main job is trade right now. At least until my father finally kicks the bucket. Then I will have two powerful jobs to handle."  
Fen'Fael wiggled his nose, "so you're a mage then? I had no idea." He looked down to his feet as he realised that there was so much about the human man that he did not know about. There was so many things that Fen'Fael wanted to know, but was afraid to ask. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

"So," Fen'Fael said, nervously, "how does the whole heir thing work here? I know only a little of what humans are like, and less so those in the Imperium."  
Velius moved to take the leash off of Fen'Fael, though he kept the collar around the elf's neck, "well, it is not as simple as me just inheriting the position, there is a lot more to it and even then it is not a guarantee that I will take the position, but there are few as likely to succeed the spot." He calmly stated as he turned to walk away, motioning for the elf to follow him.  
"Even if I did get the spot, I would have to make sure someone else did not try to kill me for a chance to take the position for themselves. It is a dangerous game to play, even if no one would admit to it." Velius continued as he led Fen'Fael into one of the studies. More paperwork, the elf noted.

"You... do you use blood magic?" Fen'Fael asked warily. He knew the mages here often used such spells to gain even more power over others, but it was mostly just hearsay from other elven folks in their travels.  
Velius sat down at his table, he gave the elf a sickly sweet smile, "where did you get that idea from?" He said, amused. This gave Fen'Fael reason to shudder. There was something about that look that gave him reason to believe the rumours of powerful blood mages to be true and he realised that Velius was becoming more and more a man that was better left in a good mood.  
"I... see." Was all Fen'Fael could say as the words Kerrav had said to him, rang through his ears over and over.  
Velius however seemed more amused by the elf's reaction, but made no mention of how frightened Fen'Fael almost looked. He did however laugh and confess, "yes, I know a bit of blood magic. That is not uncommon here. Though most people would never admit to it in polite company."  
Fen'Fael gave a slow nod and Velius smiled that sweet smile again, "does it bother you that much? I have not used it on you, and have no plans to do so." He said, pulling some parchments in front of himself so that he could work on signing them. Fen'Fael assumed they were some form of contracts for the humans business though he could still not understand the language of them to be sure.  
"Why would it not worry me?" Fen'Fael said, rubbing his left arm absently, "everyone knows how dangerous someone with that kind of power is."  
Velius smirked, not looking up from his work now, "dangerous? I wouldn't say I was dangerous, just making sure I have as many options open for me to use, that is all." He said without much emotion to give away his implications of the meaning for his words.  
Fen'Fael wrinkled his nose, "I think you're probably dangerous enough even without the blood magic, but I cannot tell just how much. You are... you... are odd."

A laugh escaped Velius' lips and he glanced up from his work, "how sweet of you to think so. You flatter me."  
Fen'Fael wrinkled his nose again, "I wasn't trying too..."  
Another chuckle came from Velius.  
"I suppose it is..." Fen'Fael paused, looking for the right words, "...good that you are helping me, and not my enemy?" He bit his lower lip, he wouldn't have called Velius a friend, or even an ally. Not really, and it was hard to tell if Velius was even on Fen'Fael's side. The whole situation felt more like it was in the humans favour.  
"That is the best way you can look at it," Velius said, returning to his work, "at least you'll be able to help your clan at my side. More than you could do otherwise, yes?" Velius pushed the completed paperwork into a pile and continued with more of the same.  
"In any case, I really need to finish all this work before I head to my quarters. Why don't you make yourself useful and help the slaves in their tasks. I am sure they could do with the help."

Fen'Fael shrugged a little, "I don't remember agreeing to be a slave... though I guess as powerful as you are, I am beginning to doubt you even really need a bodyguard." He huffed, heading to the door.  
"Whatever term you wish to be called, that helps you sleep at night, my little pet." Was Velius' only reply to the elf.  
Fen'Fael wanted to protest and complain about the humans words, but he thought better of it. Velius was no different than any other stupid human after all. He was a slave to the man and that was all he would ever think. Fen'Fael didn't know why he assumed Velius would be better than the others.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm frightened by what I see  
But somehow I know  
That there's much more to come  
Immobilized by my fear  
And soon to be  
Blinded by tears  
I can stop the pain  
If I will it all away  
If I will it all away"

Fen'Fael gave a loud yawn as he slowly got out what seemed to pass for a bed by the city folk. The straw had irritated him most of the night, though it was still far better than the floor that the last two humans had insisted on him sleeping on. He had been given a hand stitched blanket of wool for keeping him warm through the night and a candle in which he could use for when he needed to use the chamber pot.  
He had a room to himself, another odd quirk of Velius' strange behaviour, Fen'Fael had taken note. Most of the other slaves shared a large room, which another slave had compared to the barracks. Fen'Fael had no idea what that was or its use outside of cramming everyone into one room for the night, but he was told it was a place guard's slept.

There was a light knock on the door before a young slave poked his head into the room. He was likely no older than ten or eleven and although his clothes were nowhere near as clean or perfect as a person of status would wear; it was still finely made as a sign that Velius took pride in his slaves. Or that was how Fen'Fael viewed things anyway. None of the slaves in Velius' care wore rags for clothes, though the higher position the slave was in, Fen'Fael noted, the nicer the clothes they wore.  
The boy seemed a little wary of Fen'Fael and he tentatively spoke to the elf, "The master Velius said you are late... um oh, and ah, to wash up."  
Fen'Fael blinked a little before he glanced to the tiny window and attempted to look out of it before he shrugged, "it is not even dawn yet, but sure, why not? Everyone else is weird around here." He complained absently.  
Shifting on the spot, the boy waited impatiently but seemed too afraid to hurry the 'strange elf' for fear of upsetting him, or other. Fen'Fael couldn't really read the child very well. He realised Velius had sent the child to get him ready and he rubbed his forehead in annoyance, "I can wash myself, you know? I am not-"  
"It is my job... if I don't do what I am told..." the child cut Fen'Fael off, he seemed even more nervous now, and wrung his hands together.  
With a sigh, Fen'Fael murmured, "okay, I get it."  
The boy seemed to relax a fraction as he nodded and began to lead Fen'Fael out of the small room, he glanced back often to make sure the elf was still following him.

Once Fen'Fael was washed and dressed in his new armour he was rushed to meet Velius in the dinning room. The child bowed deeply to his master and then gave Fen'Fael one last hurried push towards the man before quickly departing from the room.  
Velius seemed to have already eaten his breakfast, though a roll of bread had been left on a plate in a spot next to where he sat. He motioned for Fen'Fael to sit down, "if you had been earlier, it would have been fresh." Velius said as the elf cautiously joined him, unsure if it was usual for slaves and masters to eat together.  
When nothing was said, Fen'Fael ate the bread hungrily, he hadn't noticed how hungry he had been. He realised that his master had been so busy yesterday that neither of them had eaten. He wondered if it was usual for Velius to miss meals, or if he had food taken to him in the night. Either way, Fen'Fael wolfed down the food, glad he could eat before the day's tasks were underway.

Velius watched the elf with a bemused look before finally standing away from the table, "well, if you are ready, I believe I promised to take you out for a treat today, did I not?" The man smiled towards Fen'Fael and then moved towards the door, not bothering to wait for the elf to follow.  
Fen'Fael quickly drank from the pitch of water in front of him and then rammed the last bit of bread into his mouth, almost choking on it before he thumped his chest, allowing the bread to dislodge in his throat. Quickly, he then caught up with Velius and followed closely behind him, wondering what the man had planned for the day. He wasn't sure if he should feel happy or worried about this 'treat' the human had planned for him. It did not seem to be anything bad, but he couldn't say it felt like he should be happy either. After all, it could be literally anything at all. From an iron brand burned into his skin, like he had seen some other slaves have, or it could be as simple as some shoes or whatever else humans liked to do with their 'pets' as Velius seemed to enjoy calling him.  
However a thought crossed Fen'Fael's mind, maybe Velius had found another clan member? Or had managed to find a way to free Kerrav? Though it had only been a short time and was likely not the case, Fen'Fael couldn't help but hope that this was his 'treat'. He knew that Velius wasn't going to tell him anytime soon, or else he'd have done so by now.

Once the rope was tied to the collar around Fen'Fael's neck, the two was once again in the hustle and bustle of the market. Velius did not seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere in particular and seemed to enjoy simply browsing the items being sold by various merchants. Most paid him the utmost respect whenever he looked at their store while others nervously tried to keep on his good side while still trying to sell him their merchandise.  
Fen'Fael on the other hand, they seemed to be much less polite and would often poke and prod him, while speaking in their strange language. The elf had to swipe more than a few hands away whenever it became too much and his requests for them to stop went ignored. He couldn't tell if they understood him, or just chose to ignore him but either way, he was not fond of so many strange people trying to touch him.

Finally, Velius seemed to grow bored of the market and began to wander further into the city. Though it almost felt as though they were leaving it. The cobblestones gave way to grass and houses to trees that Fen'Fael had not seen before. They were unlike those he knew from the forests, yet they gave him a familiar sense of peace. It was a feeling he had not realised he had missed so much until now.  
"I thought you might enjoy some more relaxing time outside," Velius said as he watched the elf move over to one of the trees and spread his arms around it, "though I had no idea you loved trees so much as to hug them." He chuckled.  
Fen'Fael gave an absent shrug, he had little care about what others thought of him as they wandered the gardens and saw him standing there, holding the tree like it was a long-lost friend. He missed the feeling of being surrounded by the trees and halla, and even though it was no forest setting, the few trees dotted about made him feel more contented than he had in a long time.  
"You have no idea what it is like," he said solemnly, "to be taken from your home and forced into a life like this." Fen'Fael gave a long sigh before allowing his arms to drop down to his sides. His forehead rested against the bark of the tree and his pointed ears seemed to droop, "thank you," he murmured somewhat sheepishly. Fen'Fael didn't want to seem ungrateful for the gesture, even though he now felt more homesick than ever before.

Velius gave the elf a simple smile, though the elf could not read the man's expression. Was the man happy that he had been thanked, or was he completely neutral towards the whole thing? Fen'Fael had no idea what to think about the man. That much had not changed in the slightest since they had first met and granted it had only been a few days, Fen'Fael wondered why the man's intentions were so difficult to figure out. Most people regardless of race usually showed their emotions much more openly than Velius did. Either way, Fen'Fael felt a little better knowing that even if the human man didn't really care about such things himself, he could at least show some thought of other people's feelings in his own ways.

The two spent the rest of the day walking the gardens as Velius' showed the elf all the different sections of the area. In almost all areas stood large dragon statues in praise to the old Gods. Fen'Fael didn't quite understand most of what Velius spoke of in terms of why they believed mere beasts could be anything more than that, but he knew the humans felt the same about his own Creators and thus tried to not insult anyone by saying something he would only be lectured upon later. Once they were done with wandering the gardens Velius and Fen'Fael returned back to the mansion to eat and retire for the rest of the evening.


End file.
